African Queen 1943 M16A2 MGMC Half-Track

My ride ... Recovered from East African Desert APR 07..

Preservation Pics:
http://s238.photobucket.com/albums/ff194/mkoloc/?action=view&current=HT4thofJuly.flv

http://mkolocsM16A2HT.MyPicGallery.com

All right we want to know the story. Where in Wisc do you live? The flatbed's from Stillwater where I live.

looks nice miss driving half tracks. Always sounded like a apc was following you. Turning wasnt the greatest either.

You have to tell us the story behind this!

Do you need some quad parts?

I'm glad that the old machine is in the hands of someone that is going to do right by it.

Do you know the story on it?

Track was found in the Horn of Africa, Djibouti desert... it had been driven out to the sand and abandoned by the French Foreign Legion in late 50’s or early 60’s ... French stated that they received the track from US in Korea in 1954 (Records confirmed that 4 M16A2’s and several M4s were transferred to the French in 1954 from US Army in Korea) and they took it to Indo-China (Vietnam). From Indo-China to Djibouti Africa in 1958 and used by the legion until she was driven into the sand and left ... I came across her while I was out with my team on a 6 miler one day .. Recognized her thru all the thorn bushes that had grown around her... worked with my French Liaison officers who were assigned to my shop and got permission (with a small fee) to recover her... The French considered the HT as a nuisance (go figure) there was a lot of ass-pain in recovering her (PAPERWORK/ CUSTOMS)... but all were overcome and her she sits... I owe a huge debt of gratitude to several fellow enthusiast working for Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) Who volunteered their time and help to me in recovering her from the sand, bringing her back to my base and helping me to put her together again for shipment... these same folks helped me load and chain her into the 40 foot container for shipment back to US.

My intention is to show her in parades, at historical events (military/other) etc and I want children and adults to crawl all over her and get a feel for what it was like to fight and live out this beast by those who gave so much during WWII and Korea to defend our way of life. I intend to keep her in her current WWII paint. The tires are 1952 Michelin Invincible Combat Run Flats and are solid rubber... 1943 BFG tracks are in good shape and there appears to be no separation of the BFG rubber on the bogies... all the engine oil levels, fluids in the differentials etc were good.. Soaked the cylinders down and she turned over very nicely so then I did a compression check... 3 cylinders had lousy compression... figured that the valves were hanging-up and they were... 1 sparkplug was cracked and broken off in the head... decided to pull the head, drop the pan and yank the manifolds... the crank, cam, pistons etc look beautiful .. Head has cleaned up very nicely and to date I have rebuilt the carb, fuel pump, vacuum pump, generator, starter and distributor... Water pump is solid with no slop in the bearings, a buddy of mine went thru the radiator as the filler neck had some pinholes and there were two leaks in the core ... pulled both my gas tanks... One was sealed, had a cap... the other did not... they had some rust and dirt... rolled them up and down the hill a few times with some chain inside to knock all that crap loose then cleaned them out and red-koted them both .. I installed NOS sending units and reinstalled tanks. My current and next project is the wire harness (All 4 of them) dash board rebuild, master cylinder and the Maxon turret.

Always nice to see something come out of the desert from abandonment and get re-activated to functionag order. Good show!

It's amazing that the machine hadn't been used for target practice.

I see that it was in Vietnam for a while. While serving as a surveyor with the 1/11th Field Artillery, I set up the firing position for a deuce mounted quad 50 at FSB Moore. They fired it on map coor’ds, just like their big brothers, the 105s and 155s. They would reach out over 5 mi. when fired on high trajectory. The rounds, no tracers, wound come in on the target at a steep angle and the VC only heard “thump, thump” as they impacted; they were too far away to hear the muzzle reports. The VC called them "Whispering Death". They were also very effective when used as direct fire against dug in positions.

See http://www.mystae.com/reflections/vietnam/duster.html

I really commend you for going to the trouble of restoring it. I know that there are magazines that would like to do articles on your adventures through the sand of Africa and the red tape of the governments involved.

What a project!! Thanks for sharing it with us and I will watch for more.

Halftrack

Hey Mark,
That has to be the coolest recovery ever of a halftrack! To me the Halftrack was the US icon vehicle of WW2. When looking to purchase one I could have never even dreamed of finding / affording one as complete as yours, well worth what ever $ and affort it cost you. We are doing ours the hard away, one piece at a time.
Picture of ours when purchased.
Karl

RE: Halftrack

One word about your head bolt problem. Helicoil. It will fix you right up.

It must have cost a fortune to get it from Africa (where in Africa?) back to the Wisconsin.

im super glad that you have taken some pics. lets fill in the blanks and show some more pics on what you have done so far. you have done a nice job so far. hope you finish it up as i can see youve taken some time and money to do it right Tim

Karl .. she is a beauty .. what configuration are you looking at putting on the back? Is she running?

Tim, my only goal is to keep her as original as I can ... lots of $ trying to find all the small pieces (Right Karl?)... Still need to purchase radios, and plan on fabricating my own 50cal reproductions from some, cold steel and some plans I received... Appreciate your comments regards keeping original. I have had a lot help and advice from many 'Great Americans"

Cost from Djibouti Africa to Norfolk VA approx $6500 USD
Broker/ Customs fees: $750 USD
Transport form Norfolk VA to MN storage site: $1700 USD
Transport from MN storage site to my abode when I got home: $310
Watching my baby finally being unloaded at my house: PRICELESS

The more folks (Especially the Navy JAG) told me it legally couldn’t be done the more determined I was to do it... It was not just about having it... it was more about saving its historical value and what it represented; tears, blood, sweat, sacrifice, total devotion and above all triumph .. Something that some REMF's can never seem to figure out

Lost my dad during my tour in Afghanistan. He loved any old vehicle (Korean Vet, SSG Army Combat Engineer) and was a mechanical master when it came to working on them... have to believe that he was looking over my shoulder the entire time and his spirit was helping me to make it happen. LOVE and MISS U DAD, This ones for you!!!!

//Vr//
Mark

PS: Kaiser thank you for the link on the units in Vietnam ... I have always respected but challenged authority!!!

Great vehicle, and great story. Keep them coming and good luck with her. I also would like to thank you and your dad for your service. From your avatar and your mention of tours you diserve it.. THANK YOU.. Guys like you make it so I can own my old green iron..
So now that you know what hoops to jump through.. Any other stuff sitting out in that place? Bring em all back home.. ... lol..Maybe a Sherman or two???

I am sure your dad would be proud . The story is almost as important as the machine.
This is proof that almost anything can be Resurrected.

It looks like the carb was open. Was there a breather on it?

SGM No breather in place when I found it .. the rubberhose between the airfilter and the carb was missiing ... butterflies were frozen in closed position so that kept a lot of crap out of the engine .. carb had to be soaked for a couple of weeks before I gould get the linkage loose enought to tear it down

Great job sir, I'm glad someone like got it and not a scraper. My dad drove M16's in the Korean war. He was a MP in the Army his frist time and buy the 2 time he was Air Force when the Air Force split from the Army. They would use the M16 to patrol the airfeild at night. I need to see if I can dig up some of his old pic's.

Jason it would be great to see some of those pics... Have asked my mom for some of my dad’s pics ... she has some when she met him and they started dating at Ft Carson Co when he was drumming out of the Army. She told me that he was so good looking in his uniform and she fell for him right away. She was a RN working in Colorado Springs at the time and met him thru his best friend who had asked her out. Dad did not talk about Korea much... but I know it was ugly and they lost most of their equipment to retrogrades and poor leadership... from Korea he was sent to Alaska and then to Carson when his enlistment was up... He did talk about Alaska and his use of heavy equipment in that challenging environment. Typical of that generation he finished college with degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering, went to work for Uncle Samuel (Atomic Energy Commission) and raised 6 kids with mom. I spent my childhood in New Mexico a lot of that time at White Sands... dad was into a lot of interesting stuff in the cold war days... He retired from Govt job and then designed Cement Mixers for a Guy by the name of Garwin McNealious who Builds MTM Mixers... The Ultra K model is named after my dad ...

After mom retired dad decided to travel with her and thye collected lots of antiques... he then decided to open a clock repair business and went back to school to learn to repair watches... he always amazed me... he was a big guy 6ft 4 and had massive hands .. And I'd visit and watch him working with these incredible small watch pieces... Dad became very ill in the last 5 years of his life and my mom the RN took control of his health management ... her efforts kept him going and I was fortunate to be able to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary with them before heading out to Afghanistan in 2003... Dad passed away 27 Dec 2003 of a heart attack.... I was home on leave in November and spent 2 weeks visiting... my last night there I sat with my dad next to his bed and told him how much I loved and respected him .. I remember telling him that he had always been my hero my John Wayne... it was pretty emotional... and His reply back to me was "Son you have always been my hero" ... last time I saw him except for the funeral...

Not sure why I'm explaining all of this here ... maybe it's just that I have experienced a lot these past few years and I "Get It" life is short .. So enjoy it, go for your dreams and don't let someone tell you that it can't be done... and above all live each day and treat your loved ones like it's your last day on this earth.

//R//
Mark

I lost my dad last year. He also worked for the Gov in Los Alamos, NM. He was on the NEST team. (Not at all like they show it in the movies.. They are scientists running around in plain white vans full of detecting equipment not gun holding commandos in a helicopter.) I got a lot from my dad, and I fully agree with you. I was with him when he died. Life is short. Tell the ones you love and don't waist time being afraid.

(My dad would have loved your half-track too..)